Inches, maybe even centimeters, stood between Michigan and a very different state of affairs Thursday night.

An up-and-under layup attempt by Nebraska's Terran Petteway couldn't find a friendly bounce on the inside of the rim. A wide open, unimpeded tip-in attempt by teammate Leslee Smith suffered the same fate. A second tip attempt missed.

The final horn blared, sending Michigan players sprinting to midcourt to celebrate a 71-70 win over Nebraska at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

"We were really fortunate to get this win," U-M coach John Beilein said afterward.

That's not just "coach speak." That inch, those centimeters -- they kept Michigan from nearly squandering a 62.0 percent shooting performance.

The Wolverines indeed won, though, improving to 11-4 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten. It was close. Maybe closer than it should have been. And that's for one reason.

"We couldn’t stop them," Beilein said.

Before Thursday, only two teams -- No. 16 Duke and No. 1 Arizona -- had scored 70 or more points on Michigan since Thanksgiving. U-M, as it has long done under Beilein, keeps scores tame by combining a steady defense with a deliberate offense. The Wolverines are only averaging 65.1 possessions per 40 minutes this season, ranking 314th nationally.

The meeting with Nebraska played out at a familiar pace with Michigan pouring in 31 made field goals. Only wins over Houston Baptist and Holy Cross produced more.

That was all well and good, expect U-M couldn't tame the Huskers on the other end.

Nebraska finished the night shooting 53.1 percent from the field (26-49), the highest of any Michigan opponent this season.

Much of it had to do with Nebraska leading scorer Terran Petteway. Guarded by Nik Stauskas, Petteway scored two points in the first half and committed four turnovers. He took over in the second half, scoring 14 points, including nine in the final 6 minutes, 43 seconds, and finished with 16 points, one below his season average of 17.3 per game.

While much of Nebraska's 30-point output in the first half can be credited to guard Ray Gallegos catching a hot streak and making three 3-pointers in just over two minutes, the second half was a different story.

The Huskers made 15-of-26 attempts after halftime, mostly on blow-bys from the perimeter and on second-chance opportunities. Eight of the team's 40 second-half points stemmed from offensive rebounds.

Through it all, Beilein stuck with his standard man-to-man defense. Most of Nebraska's second-half success came on one-on-one plays. The Huskers had only four assists on their 15 made shots.

"The big thing was trying to stop them," Beilein said. "They have a lot of guys that can drive the ball."

In the end, Michigan's win came because Nebraska was no better defensively. Five different U-M players finished in double-figures, led by 19 from Glenn Robinson III. As a team, the Wolverines shot 66.7 percent in the first half, matching its highest single-half percentage of the season (vs Houston Baptist).